Shukla Yajurved - Chapter 1- Simple Explanation based on Swami Dayananda's Bhashya

Know More about Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Interpretation of Vedas.  Start Today 12 February - Birthday of Swami Dayananda

1. The creator of this universe, the fountain head of happiness and knowledge may inspire us for the performance of the noblest deeds with our body organs.

2. Rays of the sun purify the air.

3.  Vedas are the true source of knowledge and their study enables us to enjoy the full span of life. They contain the detailed instructions concerning various duties.

4. Yajnas make explicit true and perfect knowledge. (Yajna is a project or performance using the knowledge in vedas)

5. O you men, which branches of true knowledge do you want to comprehend? Select some branches, learn, use them and make their benefit explicit. Make the benefit available to you and your fellow beings.




Chapter 1: 31 Yajus (Hymns)

1. O Lord, we only look forward to you, we depend on you for the supply of foodstuffs and the vigour that they give to our body. The creator of this universe, the fountain head of happiness and knowledge may inspire us for the performance of the noblest deeds with our body organs. He should bless that our cows, which should never be killed be healthy and strong. Let he cows be full of calves and free from diseases. Please see to it that a thief and sinner are never born among us. The lord of land and cattle be in constant possession of these and bestow his beneficial aspect on them. O lord, please protect the cattle, wealth and progeny of the virtuous people.

2. Yajnas act as purifiers and make explicit true and perfect knowledge. All the learned persons and their followers should not give up the performance of yajnas. Rays of the sun purify the air. They are the mainstay of universe and they also add comfort to people. Sun is in an exalted position.

3. The yajna of the great Lord is the supporter of innumerable worlds and it purifies all of us. Lord, lead us on the path of virtue. Lord, purify us through the store of true knowledge and all jnana and vijnana contained in the Vedas. Lord, purify us through selfless deeds of people. O you men, which branches of true knowledge do you want to comprehend?

4. Vedas are the true source of knowledge and their study enables us to enjoy the full span of life. They contain the detailed instructions concerning various duties. May we through His Grace be firmly convinced of the utility of industrial achievements, and may He, protect our yajnas and the knowledge and means therefore.

5. O God, the Lord of Vows (Vrats), I will observe the vow (vrat). Please give me strength for that. I pray to you to grant me success in the fulfillment of my vow (vrat). I take the vow of renouncing untruth and embracing truth.

6. Who prompts people to do good deeds? It is He, the Great Lord who guides people on the path of virtue. The Lord encourages the teacher and the taught, the organizers (yajamans) and the workers to constantly engage in doing good deeds and developing good character and true knowledge.

7. God give us the power so that we root out the evil tendencies of the wicked, the unsympathetic and uncharitable exploiters of humanity. Give us power so that we take to task the disturbers of peace and expose the wicked.

8. O Lord, you are the dispeller of vices. Please punish the wicked. Deal with vicious people who put sages to trouble. Lord, exhort sinful people to do noble deeds, fill their mind with noble thoughts. We worship you Lord, the purifier of thoughts, the Promulgator of knowledge and the giver of knowledge to the learned, giver of happiness and joy in the universe, and worthy of adoration by the religious minded devotees and the wise.

9. O you men, increase the store of goods acquired by honest and fair means to be used in the service of humanity. Dedicate your life to this cause. The spiritually minded people also should not give up humanitarian work. Your life has to be constantly consecrated to the performance of five daily duties. The heat of the sun destroys dirt and odour, and draws substances consigned to the fire, in their atomic form for the purification of air.

10. In this universe created by the all pervading and shining God, I realize and appreciate the power and influence of the sun and moon, feel the inhalation and exhalation of life-giving breath, appreciate the efforts made by the votaries of knowledge for mastering the science of energy. I follow the researches made by the learned in the application of water and fire.

11. I engage in agriculture and craft for removing poverty and ministering happiness to all. May our houses be sufficiently large, airy, comfortable and built in the middle of an open space. Our life has to be in conformity with Vedic teachings. I should feel joy in my domestic life. O Lord, we pray to you to preserve and protect whatever gives us happiness in our life.

12. O learned persons, in this world created by God, inhaling and exhaling breaths are purified by the faultless and pure rays of the sun. Charming and beautiful waters which run to the ocean, go up in the atmosphere and then come down and nourish plants and herbs (that give us medicines) are purified by the rays of sun. You also do Homa with pure substances (Is Homa symbol of Sun? Having a Homa is having Sun symbolically very close to you). I always promote this yajna, support the worshipper or performer of the yajna. The worshipper or Yajnapathi will have pure mind, strong body, noble qualities and will be full of learning.

13. O performers of yajnas, the sun receives the waters and air and converts them back into clouds on a daily basis without rest or break. Similarly, you should always perform yajnas.

We all should perform prescribed yajnas for the attainment of God, for performing noble acts, for the acquisition of fine virtues and for temporal and spiritual advancement. Yajnas purify all substances and human beings. Yajnas will remove all your physical and mental defects. I, the revealer of the Veda, advance the yajnas, the purificatory act of yours.

14. May your house be comfortable. It should not offer shelter to the wicked and uncharitable. May god impart you the knowledge of building houses. May all persons acquire a house through the grace of God and which remains firmly attached to the ground as skin on body. The learned people have to understand the building of house. May God help them to understand. Clouds receive moisture form forests in the form of air and reside in vast space. May God impart you the knowledge of clouds and help us to have water.

15. Yajna is performed with the recitation of vedic verses. I perform yajnas for the acquisition of noble qualities. Assuager of mental, O yajna, accept this oblation and provide happiness for me and the learned. Those who read and teach Vedas, and who are well acquainted with vedic practices may inspire us for the performance of yajnas. Yajnas keep the fire going. Homas maintain agnihotra. From the homa, the hot air goes up and forms the clouds.

16.The yajna keeps away the thieves, refines and sweetens the speech, produces foodstuffs, and provideas knowledge and vigour. The yajna is an instrument to produce rain. Let people inculcate the habit of performing yajnas. 

We should try to control and defeat the dacoits, exploiters of impure minds and persons who lead impure lifes. May we through the aid of heroic persons win battles again and again. Just as the sun breaks the substances put in homa into atoms and air takes them above on a continuous basis, so do God and the scholars preach Veda for the good of humanity.

17. We have to avoid in a yajna the use of fire that burns the corpses. We have to use the fire, that ripens the raw commodities. O Lord, you are a dauntless. We think of you and realize you in our heart for the removal of the wicked. O Lord, you are the bestower of permanent happiness. Through you teachings, remove our miseries and confer bliss upon us. We pray to you to bestow happiness upon the learned and the heroic persons. May the Earth and the beings living on it advance in their life through meritorious work.

18. O Lord, you are the sustainer of the universe. Accept our adoration and prayers offered through Vedic verses and develop our mental power and knowledge. I realize you in my heart as supporter of the learned. I understand you as the Statesman and the Guide on the duties of different classes (varnas). I keep you in my heart, the all pervader, the giver of happiness from all directions, please destroy my internal foes.

O you men, lead a life of penance by doing pranayama and follow the wise and learned and persons who are well versed in shastras.

19. The yajna is the giver of happiness, puts an end to the selfish and miserly habits. May the performer of the yajan realize its benefits. The proper recitation is the vedic hymns is itself a yajna. The yajan performed by on special occasions bestows enormous benefits. The yajna is the sustainer of the illustrious sun, the embodiment of vedic lore (The sun is doing yajna). Let us realize the yajna as the bringer of rain, and giver of spiritual knowledge.

20. The foodstuffs and water purified by the performance of yajna strengthen the body and sense organs. Let us do yajnas for sound health, vitality and for long life full of happiness and prosperity. The glorious creator and emancipator of the universe, through His perfect omnipresence, blesses us for acquiring and disseminating true sublime knowledge.

21. O men, just as I the Lord, propagate the knowledge of this yajna in the world created by Me, and perform it through the bright sun, stable earth, vitalizing air and various kinds of breaths in the human organism, you also perform yajnas. Prepare for your benefit mixtures of various medicines, juices and pure water.

22. The yajna confers fuller life and happiness. The yajnas are to be performed everywhere. The performers of yajnas have to spread the knowledge of performing yajnas. The oblation put into fire expands and reaches the regions below sun and moon and produces rain and food stuff. May the sacrificial agni keep us free from disease. I fully devote myself to the yajna for attainment of happiness and material prosperity. May the large living inside me, make our yajna perfect for the attainment of complete joys.

23. People have to be fearless and should not waver in the performance of yajna. God bless the performer of yajnas to have an offspring, who is faithful, free from weakness and excellent in behariour. We wholeheartedly do yajnas, for the purification of water and air, for getting the blessings of mother, father, and preceptor and for realizing the Lord. This means every one of us has to do efforts to make our father, mother, guru and Lord happy.

24. I perform yajnas free of himsa (violence) for the attainment of noble qualities. Yajnas remove our miseries. A yajna make us receive the rays of sun that ripen a large variety of objects. A yajna makes us receive rain. I perform yajnas with the association and guidance of learned. I can perform yajnas by the push given to me by the Lord, the giver of bliss.

25. O heroic persons, bind by various fetters wicked people in this world, who are opposed to us and opposed by us, and release him not. May the yajnas help us to get rays of sun in abundant quantity. O God, give us thoughts that help us to preserve medicinal herbs that are required in yajnas.

26. O Lord, may we associate with learned and thus freely spread the system of education propounded in the Vedas. The ignorant people who are opposed to the learned and whom the learned disapprove should be brought round to the path of virtue by hundred of means available. May the wicked not blessed with the prosperity and knowledge that help them to do more wicked things. We should subjugate wicked folk who stop yajnas from being performed. The cruel people who are opposed to just living should be bonded by God till they come to senses. Sun and God do their duty and provide us light and fulfill our desires. O you dutiful persons, follow the path of virtue consistently and persistently.

27. I perform the yajnas with the recitation of vedic verses in Gayatri, Trishtup and Jagati metres. O Earth, you are a source of prosperity, happiness and beauty. You provide us with a place fit to dwell upon comfortably and provide us with corn, milk, sweet juices and fruits.

28. O Lord, You provided this earth full of foodstuffs and life giving substances for the living creatures. May the learned people conquer all foes waging severe fight with the aid of warriors and arms and attain power. O learned persons, we know the dutiful persons only are acquiring wealth. You also worship God with you present wealth for future prosperity. Let evil be eradicated in this universe.

29. Oh destroyer of foes, I prepare you for battle. I provide all tings necessary for your vitality. Those who can’t tolerate the good of others must be chastised, and openly condemned. Those who cause harm to others should be humiliated. I want our army to be strong for weakening the foe and waging war when required. O god, let the wicked be punished, the enemies of truth be punished, all those opposed to knowledge should come to grief.

30. O Lord, you are the creator of juices in the soil that help plants to grow. You are omnipresent and pervade everything this universe. You have an inextinguishable flame which keeps on radiating light and energy to the universe. You are worthy of worship by sages, meant for worship through the recitation of the vedic texts. May we worship you and see you and feel you through our spiritual vision, for our advancement.

31. I perform the yajna under the flawless pure rays of the sun. I make the hearts and souls of the people pure by spreading soul-illuminating knowledge provided by you. O Lord, you are the source of all light, purity, you are the giver or bliss of emancipation (moksha). You are the final resort of the universe, fit to be adorned and worshipped by the learned and sages and fit to be loved by the sincere devotees. You are invincible.

Effort is further being made to read Swamiji's Bhashya in Hindi and make the summary better and better. Please give your suggestions in comments.

Posted by me earlier in
http://nrao-vedas.blogspot.in/2007/09/yajurveda-chapter-1.html

Updated on 25 April 2020
11 February 2015